The Recovery Project
by Driney
Summary: Temporarily abandoned. May be back to work on it soon!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First off, I would like to say that I shall try to update with a small chapter each week. Second, this is my very first Fan Fiction ever written, so please try to be nice, and constructive, though I kinda want to know what it'll feel like to get a flame. If things are a tad bit confusing in this first chapter, they will be cleared up as the story goes on. So, please enjoy, and send me constructive criticism. Oh, and I'm still trying to figure out this website, so be patient, if it isn't too well formatted yet. And yes, I know this is short. Extremely short.

_The Recovery Project_

Hermione Granger was sitting on her couch doing what all Hermione Grangers all over the world have done best since the beginning of time; she was curled up on her couch, drinking tea and burying her nose in a gigantic book. At this exact moment, which would be forever sealed in her mind as the beginning of the end, she had looked up from the small, almost unreadable print, to take a sip of her drink, accidentally scalding her tongue, and to turn a page of the book.

A tapping started at the window of her house, which Hermione promptly ignored, blithely passing it off in her mind as some part of the Muggle song to which she was listening. The tapping grew more persistent, louder, and faster, until Hermione could no longer ignore it. Finally roused from her book, her gaze slipped over to the window, where an owl was perched upon her window box.

Sighing, Hermione put the book down, and stood up by the window, opening it, allowing the bird inside. The owl hopped inside, holding up a heavy letter, and looked peevishly at Hermione. She glared back, blaming the owl for interrupting her supposedly stress-free night. Sliding an unmanicured under the seal, she wondered what the ministry could want with her this late at night, when it obviously wasn't an emergency, as they could've easily contacted through floo.

_Dear Hermione Granger, _(The letter began)

_I hope to catch you well, on your most deservedly free weekend; after all of the work you do so often for us. I truly am very sorry to interrupt you so late this weekend, but it was a bit of an emergency. I have a tremendous favor to ask of you. The great worker you are, I know you are ahead on every piece of paperwork to cross your desk, so the time off shall not be too hard to manage. _

Hermione paused in her readings, musing on what this "emergency" could be.

_I need you to spend time with a Mr. Draco Malfoy._

What now?

_Of course, you haven't heard of this newest program, (as it will come out in the Daily Prophet tomorrow), but we are starting a new "Death-Eater Sympathizer Rehabilitation Program", as so many of those young chaps, and ladies have been taught their whole lives to think of Purebloods as better than all others. With the light side having won, I feel that it would be good of us to try and give these people a new chance in the world. _

_I hope to hear from you tomorrow, though I shall be fair and warn you that if you refuse this proposition your position at the ministry may be terminated._

_With greatest love to you dearie,_

_Minister of Magic,_

_Gertrude __Phyllida Pinpurnel_

Hermione stood still, ignoring the owl as it flew out the window, the letter shaking in her hand, due to the breeze blowing in from the outdoors. Slowly she brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose, and wandered back to her seat on the couch.

This was the wackiest idea yet from the new minister. Gertrude Phyllida Pinpurnel had been installed as Minister of Magic a few years after the war, when, after reorganizing the whole country to the best of his ability, Kingsley Shacklebolt had stepped down from the position, handing it off to an almost insane, yet absolutely brilliant, and ancient colleague of his: Gertrude Pinpurnel. So far, she'd come up with the many and greatly varied rehabilitation for the wizarding world after Lord Voldemort. Every single one of which had been amazingly successful. But this was one insane idea Hermione was sure would never work out.


	2. Chapter 2

~Chapter 2~

Disclaimer: I do not own any of J.K. Rowling's original characters, or settings. This is all for fun, and I am not earning any money from it. I really wish I could say they were mine, but they will never be mine, and I guess I'll just have to deal with that. *Sigh*

"_Death-Eater Sympathizer Rehabilitation Program (DESRP)"_ was splashed on the front cover of the Daily Prophet early the next Monday morning. Immediately Hermione's lips thinned, as she thought of her newest assignment for the Ministry. She knew this was going to be a long period of time, she just hoped Malfoy would cooperate, and make this easier on the both of them.

Hermione read the article intently, trying to absorb what was in store for her with this project. She gulped, though the article wasn't all that detailed, just talking about how the DESRP was being founded to foster new relations between the Muggleborns, Purebloods, and Half-bloods, never giving any real information of what the project consisted of.

After quickly finishing her morning tea and toast, Hermione waved her wand, muttering a few words, magically cleaning her dishes and putting them away. She wandered into her bathroom starting up the shower and hopping in. When finished with her usual morning ablutions, greatly improved by some minor hair de-bushing spells, she walked into her room, towel wrapped around her, ready to pick out her clothes for the day.

"Ms. Granger!" Came her secretary's slightly nasal voice right as Hermione walked into her office. Hermione nodded her consent quickly, and Severine stood and followed Hermione into her office. Once there, Hermione sat down behind her desk, crossed her left leg over her right and turned her gaze towards her secretary.

"Good morning, Ms. Granger," Severine greeted before moving past pleasantries. "You have a meeting scheduled with the Minister in half an hour, nine-thirty on the dot. This is regarding," and Severine paused, clearly fighting a smirk, though it was meant in the friendliest kind of way. "Er, regarding the D.E.S.R.P." Hermione nodded, though her face took on a most unpleasant pinched look and Severine continued, though somewhat hesitantly now. "She's also cleared your schedule for the next month, and would only like you to come to the office once a week, if possible."

"Thank you, Severine." Hermione said, and leaned back in her chair, contemplating her secretary for a moment. Severine was fresh out of Beauxbatons, though she didn't have an accent at all when she spoke; except for sounding a tad nasal. She was not the most attractive of women, certainly not a Fleur Delacour, however, Hermione couldn't claim to be the most beautiful woman in the world either. "I suppose you will be partially transferred over to Mr. Gellantara?" Hermione asked, naming her co-worker, the one other person in the department doing pretty much the same job she did.

Severine smiled and nodded in a slightly melancholy way as Hermione dismissed her. "I'll need a few moments alone before I go see the Minister, please come get me when it is time to leave." Severine nodded once more, before backing out of the room, an odd feeling of pity sinking deep into her stomach for her boss, even though she'd never felt anything but respect and jealousy for the older woman's seemingly perfect life.

All the time Ms. Granger seemed to have wonderful people dropping in to visit her, or take her out to lunch. Severine had watched Hermione rise from position to position, always striving to earn her job, and never using her war-hero status as so many others would have done in her place. In this Ms. Granger had earned her approval, and respect, though every once in a while a green monster would crawl up, and ask Severine why she was wasting her own life away just as a secretary, in almost the same voice her mother liked to use. The pity shocked Severine, as it wasn't an emotion one would think of when describing how they felt about their boss. Especially when one's boss was Hermione Granger.

Hermione rested her head upon her folded arms on her desk, wishing the world would just forget about her at the moment. She was already nursing a strong headache, and she was sure that have to see the Minister, no matter how pleasant she was, would make it worse, as the topic of the day was her impending doom, no, sorry, the _Death-Eater Sympathizer Rehabilitation Project_, her brain said sneeringly.

Severine looked at the clock and swore under her breath, '_merde!'_. It was already 9:25, and it took at least 10 minutes to get to the Minister's office, with all the twisting and turning hallways around the ministry. "Ms. Granger!" she called out, knocking on Hermione's closed office door. "You need to hurry; the meeting is in five minutes!"

With these words, Hermione was roused from her bottomless pool of self-pity at the sound of her secretary's voice, and she bolted up, smoothing her hair and her skirt. She stood up, and quickly opened her door, before rushing out, nodding goodbye to Severine and quickly walking to the Minister's office.

"Hello Granger," came an unfortunately familiar voice as Hermione was just about to open the heavy oak door, running straight into a hard, chiseled chest, and falling towards the ground. She landed on her bottom, and stared up in confusion, wondering when the Ferret had started looking so marvelously handsome. "You always made a wonderful entrance."

A/N: A very predictable little cliffie, for my wonderful readers. I cannot believe it's been almost two weeks since I updated! I'm so sorry about the long week, but we had a guest last weekend, which is when I do all my writing, and she was sleeping in my study room. Grrr... But she's gone now, so it's all mine. Mwahaha! So, please constructively comment, and thanks sooo much for reading. I also promise that from now on, the chapters will be more exciting than they have been, and you will learn more about what this DESRP project will mean to Hermione's life.


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